Bought these online recently, would have paid twice what i got them for. Love the pot shards, wish i knew how they were collected or who made the setting. Only mark is B over sterling, on the backs. Seller asserted the maker as Mae Bia, Navajo, Kingman.
I looked through the B list in the hallmark book. Where was the seller from? I find an artist named Debra Note that makes these. It makes sense that it would be a non-Native artist because it is taboo to mess with pottery shards if you are Navajo.
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I have also seen one of these by Bisbee Bob, whom I believe is anglo. But I have never seen him use a single letter “B” to mark his jewelry, so I’m not sure if they are the same artist. The shards are old. But the jewelry itself is relatively modern.
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I wondered about that too, with the shards. I know enough to recognize they are old.
The seller was in alabama, I think they were just a clearing house or estate sellers. They had no info. I will do a search for that maker!
I can’t find the maker Jason mentioned, but these do look modern. I’ll take a look at the maker you mention, but don’t plan to acquire more. This was one of those things that stood out as a one-off.
I get the issues around wearing these, with archaeological artifacts in them, when it is illegal to collect sherds. They reminded me of shards we would see on our property when we lived in Jemez, and I hated that they could sell to someone that didn’t respect them, if that makes sense. I try to be sensitive about cultural appropriation, especially when for centuries that wasn’t a concept that existed for native artifacts. Over time my husband and I became the repository for a lot of found shards friends and family amassed, and then it was too late to put them back where they’d been found, if anyone even remembered. There is a line between appreciating a culture, and loving something so much that you destroy it.
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Welcome @Jemez2! Thank you for posting these lovely earrings. Such an interesting and informative discussion. @Jason - What would you identify this turquoise as?
So glad this forum exists. I bought a shard roadside years ago when traveling in Arizona. I was so inspired by all the amazing artistry I saw that I made my own version of a treasure necklace with the pottery shard as the center pendant; now that I’m informed I’ll be more thoughtful before making any purchases.
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I like those! I wouldn’t worry too much about the provenance of the sherds (not shards). I live in SW Colorado, Mesa Verde Country, and there’s been so much looting and plowing over artifacts over the last 140 years, it would be impossible to know. I found a hand full of sherds in the pea gravel in my parking lot at work a few months ago even. That being said, there’s a really cool field guide to ancestral puebloan pottery sherds…https://www.amazon.com/Laymans-Ancestral-Puebloan-Pottery-Northern/dp/B073YKT9KV. And I know quite a few Dine who aren’t afraid of sherds or other artifacts, so that alone wouldn’t rule out a Dine tribal affiliation.
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I would call it Turquoise Mountain.
Thanks, Jason! I appreciate your input.